Best song about New Orleans (1 Viewer)

[Jonesy77]

Best song about New Orleans, or in which the name New Orleans is promenently used

 

[Jared1979]

"House of the Rising Sun." -The Animals

 

[antipop]

better than ezra does not deserve to even be on that list....

didn't the chili peppers have a song about new orleans??

sittin on a sack of beans
way down in new orleans
wouldn't believe what i seen
sitting on that sack of beans

 

[tenordas]

I voted for Arlo Guthrie, though the song is actually about the train, not New Orleans itself. Others are slowly coming to mind ("Jesus Just Left Chicago" for example), but I'm going to let them all surface in my head before I put any of them on here.

 

[philipkw]

I always liked Steely Dan's Pearl of the Quarter.

On the water down in New Orleans
My baby's the pearl of the quarter
She's a charmer like you never seen
Singing voulez vous
Where the sailor spend his hard-earned pay
Red beans and rice for a quarter
You can see her almost any day
singing voulez vous
And if you hear from my Louise
Won't you tell her I love her so
Please make it clear
When her day is done
She got a place to go
I walked alone down the miracle mile
I met my baby by the shine of the martyr
She stole my heart with her Cajun smile
Singing voulez vous
She loved the million dollar words I say
She loved the candy and the flowers that I bought her
She said she loved me and was on her way
Singing voulez vous

 

[tenordas]

OK, here's what's come to mind so far:
Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans? - Louis Armstrong (this one would get my vote - guess I should voted "other")
Jesus Just Left Chicago - ZZ Top
Born on the Bayou - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Proud Mary - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Truckin' - The Grateful Dead
Pearl of the Quarter - Steely Dan (already mentioned, I see)
Way Down Yonder in New Orleans - Henry Creamer
Mardi Gras Mambo - Zachary Richard
House of the Rising Sun (already mentioned as well) - The Animals
New orleans is Sinking - Tragically Hip
Louisiana 1927 - Randy Newman
Mississippi Queen (also recorded as "New Orleans" by several bands) - Gary "U.S." Bonds
The Battle of New Orleans - Jimmy Driftwood (this one kept eluding me...)
Walkin' To New Orleans - Fats Domino
Sadie Green - The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
(Have You Ever Been Down To) New Orleans - J.J. Cale
Planet of New Orleans - Dire Straits
New Orleans Rag - Bob Dylan
The Witch Queen of New Orleans - Redbone


OK, that's enough. /brain off!

 

[SpinalTarp]

Tom Waits = more awesome than everyone else, so it automatically wins.

There's also Royal Orleans by Zep, but thats one of their more forgettable songs.

 

[Fiyo]

LeRoux is an all-time fave, especially that first album, so I'll go with New Orleans Ladies.

But Randy Newman's Louisiana 1927 has always been breaktaking, and post-Katrina, I feel my throat tighten anytime I hear it.

 

[Broadmoor74]

better than ezra does not deserve to even be on that list....

didn't the chili peppers have a song about new orleans??

sittin on a sack of beans
way down in new orleans
wouldn't believe what i seen
sitting on that sack of beans

Apache Rose Peacock.


Actually, I like that BTE song.

 

[primadox]

Louis Armstrong "Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?"

Randy Newman, also done by Aaron Neville "Lousiana 1927"


Both of these are particularly meaningful following Katrina. I agree Fiyo, I can't listen to Louisiana 1927 without getting a tear in my eye. I taped the fundraiser that Harry Connick Jr. helped put on in the days after Katrina, and Aaron sang that song with so much emotion. I can't watch it without a few Kleenex.

But how can we forget the third song on my list: "Oh When the Saints Go Marchin' In"? No, it's not about New Orleans, but it does say "Saints" and that = New Orleans in my book. So there's my top three.

 

[tenordas]

Tom Waits = more awesome than everyone else, so it automatically wins.

There's also Royal Orleans by Zep, but thats one of their more forgettable songs.

There's also a hideously bad song about New Orleans by Bon Jovi, but I refused to include any songs I despise on my added list.

 

[Broadmoor74]

New Orleans is a Dying Whore by Down, anyone?

 

[St. Reginald]

I know it's not exactly about New Orleans proper. per se, but I've always loved Allen Toussaint's "Southern Nights," plus he's synonymous with New Orleans.

 

[St. Widge]

I think Primadox nailed it with "Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans." But, my obscure favorite is "My Blue Heaven" by The Pogues. It seems to capture the spirit of the City, without actually using the name. It is also the only song I know that mentions Chalmettee that is not performed by Benny Grunch. Some of the lyrics are obscure, but it's a really good song:

[FONT='Times New Roman', serif]Alligators snap at your ankles
And branches snap at your brain
If I ever get through this swamp alive
Ill nevermore pray for rain

This must be the place, and still
Somehow it dont seem right
That something in the moon
Could change these endless days
To lonely nights

I take a stroll down by the sea
And walk along the pier
Then I slip and hit my head
Nows the time to fear

See the surface, see the rocks
See my past fly swiftly by
I feel the water in my lungs
And wake up screaming for my life

In my blue heaven
Theres a bottle of pontchetrain
Chalmette by moonlight
To take away the pain

Card sharks and blue harps
And dolphins who can leap
In my blue heaven
Where I can laugh
And I can weep

Black shapes zip into corners
The big lads start to crawl
To holes of their own making
In the cracks within the wall

Snakes and rats and spiders
I know that theyre still there
I pray to God that I may sleep
Without a hope, without a care

In my blue heaven
Theres a bottle of pontchetrain
Chalmette by moonlight
To take away the pain

Felines and sea lions
And rain on the beach
In my blue heaven
With angels who are out of reach

In my blue heaven
Theres a bottle of pontchetrain
Chalmette by moonlight
To take away the pain

Nightingales sing
And the bells they will ring
In my blue heaven
The bells of hell
Go ding-a-ling-a-ling[/FONT]

 

[primadox]

It is also the only song I know that mentions Chalmette that is not performed by Benny Grunch.

Good thing I didn't have a mouthful of coffee when I read that....that's so funny because it so TRUE! :_rofl: